Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci - obituary

Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci was a director of the Sistine Chapel Choir who
fought to keep pop music out of worship

Bartolucci in 2010Photo: Sipa Press/REX

4:25PM GMT 01 Dec 2013

Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, who has died aged 96, was director of the Sistine Chapel Choir under six popes. A prolific composer of liturgical music, often in the manner of Palestrina or Gregorian chant, he was also an outspoken critic of “pop-inspired songs” in worship.

When Bartolucci was appointed by Pius XII to succeed Lorenzo Perosi as director of the Sistine Chapel Choir in 1956 he inherited an ensemble that was in poor shape. Before long he had raised its standard and was bringing the choir to a worldwide audience through broadcasts, recordings and tours.

But he could not be reconciled with those who sought to modernise Church music. “The fault lies above all with the pseudo-intellectuals who have engineered this denigration of the liturgy, and thus of music, overthrowing and despising the heritage of the past with the idea of obtaining who knows what advantage for the people,” he fumed.

Even religious works by the great composers failed to pass muster. Verdi’s Requiem was “not a Mass suitable for the liturgy”, Bruckner had the “defect of being long-winded” and his Mass in E minor “rather tedious”, and Mahler was “rather repetitive”. Even Górecki’s Third Symphony, famous for its spiritual minimalism, was a “consumer phenomenon”.

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Domenico Bartolucci was born in Borgo San Lorenzo, near Florence, on May 7 1917, the son of a brick factory worker who loved the music of Verdi and Donizetti. Young Domenico entered the seminary in Florence, where his singing voice was soon spotted, and composed his first Mass at the age of 12. He was ordained in 1939, graduated from the Florence Conservatory and, after the death of Francesco Bagnoli, succeeded him director of music at Florence Cathedral.

In 1942 Bartolucci moved to Rome to expand his knowledge of sacred music, serving at the chapels of St John Lateran and St Mary Maggiore before, in 1952, being appointed deputy to Perosi, who had been in post since 1898, at the Sistine Chapel.

With the blessing of John XXIII, Bartolucci was able to reorganise the chapel’s musical arrangements, strengthening the adult choir, creating a dedicated rehearsal space and setting up the Schola puerorum for boy’s voices. He brought in many of his own works, notably his Missa de Angelis and also increased the emphasis on Palestrina’s music, on which he was an undisputed authority.

Vatican II (1962-65) brought significant changes to music in the Church and, although Bartolucci resisted, not even the Sistine Chapel was immune. “[If it’s] coming from St Peter’s, appeals and complaints aren’t of any use,” he would grumble.

Although he held the title “perpetual director”, Bartolucci was controversially removed from office in 1997. Critics said that, despite restoring the choir’s reputation, he had failed to blend the sound of the individual voices. Such was the bad feeling that his successor, Giuseppe Liberto, was soon driven out.

Bartolucci’s 40 volumes of sacred music include Masses, motets, hymns and oratorios, most of which were based on his somewhat severe interpretation of tradition. He also wrote several secular works, including an opera called Brunelleschi that has yet to be performed.

In an interview with L’espresso magazine in 2006 Bartolucci recalled some of the popes he had served. Pius XII “loved music and often played the violin”, Paul VI “was tone deaf. I don’t know how much of an appreciation he had for music,” while under John Paul II “the liturgical crisis became more deeply entrenched,” with “dancing and drums” becoming common place. “Once I left saying, 'Call me back when the show is over.’” His greatest admiration was reserved for Benedict XVI. “He plays the piano, has a profound understanding of Mozart [and] loves the Church’s liturgy,” recalled Bartolucci.

In November 2010 Benedict elevated him to the College of Cardinals but, because he was over 80, Bartolucci was ineligible to vote in the papal conclave for Benedict’s successor.

Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci, born on May 7 1917, died November 11 2013